I told my friend, who's a psychoanalyst, "I think I'll stop analyzing my problems and see what happens." She nearly bit my head off: "Are you crazy? You have to analyze your problems or they might go away!"
Thoughts have substance, and we manifest those things that occupy our thoughts. "What you think about grows, so watch what you allow into your mind. We have the power to reverse our circumstances by reversing our thoughts. Surrender to the moment. Accept whatever is happening, no matter how "bad" it looks or feels. Acceptance is the key to serenity. If someone has wronged you, stolen from you, locked you out of your home — do the basic footwork to right the wrongs — such as reporting any crime to the police, the Better Business Bureau, Legal Aid, the Legal Defense fund, Renters' Rights, or whatever help you can find in your community. Find temporary housing, go to a Food Bank, take care of the basics for your family. If you have children, teach them that they are safe no matter what, and that every new challenge is a new adventure. Teach them that they can survive whatever life
There are public libraries where you can sit all day with your children and research the Internet for help. There are community centers that will helP you find resources. There are missions and churches with temporary housing. There are parks with free meals for senior citizens. There are restaurants you can go to and just sit in a booth with a glass of water while you re-group and make calls. There is a Social Services Department. There are countless 12-step meetings in every city, where you can share your woes. There are kind people everywhere, willing to lend a hand when asked.
But after taking care of the basics, let go and let the Universe take the reins. Trust that you will be taken care of as the lilies of the field. Just try it. Try not worrying for one day and see what happens. "But you have to worry about your problems or they might go away!"
It does no good to dwell in the misery of your own thoughts for long, or to keep asking "Why? Why did this happen to me?" Sometimes we fall down in order to learn to get back up. And to learn self reliance. It's an inside job. Sometimes there is no human power that can save us; we have to find a higher power ...We have to go within and lean on inner resources. It's an inside job :)
It helps to realize that everyone is fallible and no person or system is perfect. Here in the U.S. we somehow have the idea that the trains will run on time, the water will flow from the pipes, and people will treat us fairly. We have a sense of entitlement. People who are supposed to do the right thing often fail us. Banks fail, the stock market fails. People break the law and the speed limit.
So instead of stewing or wasting time plotting revenge, or stressing yourself into a heart attack, realize your time here on Earth is a precious gift. Move forward out of the "blame zone." Instantly reverse your thought. Choose to feel differenty and react differently. Choose your next step based on joy, no matter what is happening in the outside world. The world can be collapsing in chaos, but you can choose to be CALM. Choose to feel good. Choose to LAUGH. Then see what happens.
For me, having a pity party is the fastest way to hell. Instead I like to look up, see that the sky isn't falling, and realize it could be worse. Then find a way to laugh at yourself. This too shall pass.
Take a deep breath and accept that this is what is happening for whatever reason, at this moment. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and wiser. We don't have control or power over other people's screw-ups or pathology, lack of morals or unkindness. We only have control over our reactions. We can choose to think good thoughts even about our enemies, and not resist anything going on at any moment. Disease and stress (which creates biochemical pathways to disease) are created when we are in resistance to the moment: when we are wanting something that is not happening or trying to prevent something from happening, or not being in agreement with reality. Acceptance is the key to serenity.
Cathy Gelbart finally accepted that the shopping cart was going to always be in her way in the elevator until the day she decided, this is a holy moment, "this is my daily duty -- to lovingly remove the shopping cart for others and to stop being annoyed at the faceless, nameless asshole who leaves the shopping cart in the elevator every single time they go shopping."
Cathy began looking forward to the shopping cart. It was her new mission, an act of selfless love to move it out of the way, and not to react or be impatient. She began to laugh at herself for the way she had behaved all year — the way she had cursed and kicked the shopping cart; the hours of wasted energy spent imagining a confrontation with the selfish jerk who put it there.
So she changed her attitude and began to look forward to the shopping cart each day. And the minute she did this, the shopping cart never appeared again.
If we resist or fight or spend time retaliating, brooding, worrying, screaming, fighting anyone or anything (including the System, the Powers that be, the Republicans, the banks, the government, the insurance companies, the economy, the law) we stay entangled in a toxic relationship with the very people we most want to disengage from. We stay stuck, or as Emmet Fox says, "tethered to our enemies, by a ball and chain, like a prisoner. The more we rehearse our grievances over and over in our minds, blaming and shaming and regretting and cursing them -- the more power we give them with our thoughts. We are only hurting ourselves; it's our stress levels that affect our health. Long-term anger is not a healthy emotional state to linger in. Forgive and move on.
I love this: Maximize your experience on Earth. Thoughts have substance, and we manifest those things that occupy our thoughts. We are all creators of our own individual universe.Success, physical and emotional well-being, happy relationships, and spiritual wisdom are affected by our environment. Proper guidance of universal energy is essential to maximizing our experience on Earth.
